Chapter 1 - Overview


Chapter 1 - Overview

Introduction

1.1        Annual reports of departments and agencies are referred to Senate Committees under Senate Standing Order 25(20). The Senate Economics Legislation Committee is responsible for the scrutiny of departments and agencies in the following portfolios:

  • Innovation, Industry, Science and Research;
  • Resources, Energy and Tourism; and
  • Treasury.[1]

1.2        The structures and outcomes for each of these portfolios are summarised in Appendices 5, 6 and 7.

1.3        Standing order 25(20) requires the committee to:

  • examine each annual report referred to it and report to the Senate whether the report is apparently satisfactory;
  • consider in more detail, and report to the Senate on, each annual report which is not apparently satisfactory, and on the other annual reports which it selects for more detailed consideration;
  • investigate and report to the Senate on any lateness in the presentation of annual reports;
  • in considering an annual report, take into account any relevant remarks about the report made in debate in the Senate;
  • if the committee so determines, consider annual reports of departments and budget-related agencies in conjunction with examination of estimates;
  • report on annual reports tabled by 31 October each year by the tenth sitting day of the following year, and on annual reports tabled by 30 April each year by the tenth sitting day after 30 June of that year;
  • draw to the attention of the Senate any significant matters relating to the operations and performance of the bodies furnishing the annual reports; and
  • report to the Senate each year whether there are any bodies which do not present annual reports to the Senate and which should present such reports.[2]

Purpose and requirements of annual reports

1.4        Annual reports provide information on the success (or otherwise) of departments and agencies in meeting their goals and so assist in ensuring the public accountability of government departments and agencies. Their tabling in the Parliament, and scrutiny by Senate committees, allows Parliament to make informed judgments on the executive's performance in administering government programmes.

1.5        Departments of State and Executive Agencies present their annual reports pursuant to sections 63(2) and 70(2) of the Public Service Act 1999, respectively.[3] Commonwealth authorities and companies present their annual reports pursuant to their own enabling legislation and/or sections 9 and 36 of the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 (CAC Act), respectively.[4]
The Department of Finance and Deregulation publishes a chart on their website that shows which agencies are subject to various acts.[5] The legislation governing the annual reports of various agencies is shown in Appendices 2, 3 and 4.

1.6        The enabling legislation of some agencies may require that agency to report on matters other than those included in the guidelines, or impose different reporting requirements. The Committee's view is that such agencies, while bound by their enabling legislation, should also comply with the requirements imposed under the government's policy, to the extent that the requirements do not conflict.

Reports referred to the committee

1.7        Under Standing Order 25(20)(f), the committee is required to report on the annual reports of departments and agencies tabled in the Senate between 1 May and 31 October each year by the tenth sitting day of the following year. This year that date is 23 March 2011. 

1.8        This report examines the following annual reports for 2009-10, which were tabled in the Senate by 31 October 2010, within their required timeframe:

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
  • Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS)
  • Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS)
  • Australian Office of Financial Management (AOFM)
  • Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA)
  • Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation (ARPC)
  • Australian Solar Institute (ASI)
  • Australian Statistics Advisory Council (ASAC)
  • Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
  • Commonwealth Grants Commission (CGC)
  • Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
  • Companies Auditors and Liquidators Disciplinary Board (CALDB)
  • Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee (CAMAC)
  • Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (DIISR)
  • Financial Reporting Panel (FRP)
  • Inspector-General of Taxation (IGT)
  • Superannuation Complaints Tribunal (SCT)
  • Tax Practitioners Board (TPB)
  • Tourism Australia (TA)
  • Treasury

1.9        This report also examines two annual reports for 2008-09, which were tabled between 1 May and 31 October 2010. These are the Foreign Investment Review Board's annual report for 2008-09, which was tabled in the Senate on 11 May 2010, and Snowy Hydro Ltd's annual report for 2008-09, tabled in the Senate on 15 June 2010.

1.10      Comments on these individual reports are contained in Chapter 2.

Timeliness

1.11      Standing Order 25(20)(c) requires the committee to report to the Senate on the late presentation of annual reports.

1.12      The legislative requirements for the tabling of annual reports vary between different types of agencies.[6] However, the Government's policy is 'that all annual reports should be tabled by 31 October'.[7]

1.13      The Committee notes that there are a significant number of organisations whose annual reports, while prepared and sent to the minister by October, were not tabled in the Senate until November. These are listed in Table 1.  In particular, the 2009-10 annual reports for the Anglo-Australian Observatory and Innovation Investment Fund (IIF) Companies are considered late reports.

1.14      The remainder of the reports tabled after 31 October in the Senate were however tabled in the House of Representatives before 31 October 2010, and hence are not considered as late reports. The Committee still believes these reports should have been tabled in the Senate more promptly, and suggests that future reports should be tabled in the Senate by 31 October regardless of their tabling date in the House.

1.15      The Committee notes that the Foreign Investment Review Board only sent its annual report for 2008-09 to the Treasurer on 18 March 2010, after which the report was subsequently tabled in the Senate on 11 May 2010. This report was tabled over five months late, and the committee considers that future annual reports from the Foreign Investment Review Board should be tabled in a timelier manner.

1.16      Snowy Hydro Ltd's report for 2008-09 is considered in this report, having been tabled in the Senate on 15 June 2010. Under the Snowy Hydro Corporatisation Act, Snowy Hydro is required to provide its report prior to its annual general meeting. The Snowy Hydro for 2009-2010 has been published and is available on the Snowy Hydro website, dated 25 August 2010; however at the time of writing it has not yet been tabled in parliament. The committee believes that regardless of the requirement for the annual report to be tabled before the Snowy Hydro annual general meeting, it would be appropriate for the report to be tabled by end-October each year.

Table 1: Reports tabled in the Senate after 31 October

Agency

Transmitted

Received by Minister

Tabled in Senate

Tabled in HoR

Anglo-Australian Observatory

undated

9 Nov

24 Nov

N/A

Auditing and Assurance Standards Board

4 Oct

15 Oct

16 Nov

28 Oct

Australian Accounting Standards Board

4 Oct

15 Oct

16 Nov

28 Oct

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (incorporating the Australian Energy Regulator)

27 Aug

21 Sep

16 Nov

28 Oct

Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation

24 Sep

24 Sep

16 Nov

28 Oct

Australian Research Council

20 Oct

21 Oct

16 Nov

28 Oct

Australian Securities and Investments Commission

7 Oct

08 Oct

16 Nov

28 Oct

Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism (including Geoscience Australia)

14 Oct

21 Oct

16 Nov

28 Oct

Innovation Investment Fund (IIF) Companies

27 Oct

28 Oct

24 Nov

24 Nov

Financial Reporting Council

11 Oct

19 Oct

16 Nov

28 Oct

National Competition Council

27 Aug

25 Oct

16 Nov

28 Oct

National Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority

13 Oct

20 Oct

16 Nov

28 Oct

Productivity Commission

14 Oct

19 Oct

16 Nov

28 Oct

Reserve Bank of Australia

17 Aug

21 Sep

16 Nov

28 Oct

Royal Australian Mint

6 Sep

21 Oct

16 Nov

28 Oct

Takeovers Panel

26 Aug

05 Oct

16 Nov

28 Oct

Remarks made in the Senate

1.17      Senate Standing Order 25(20)(d) directs the committee to take into account remarks made in the Senate when considering annual reports.

1.18      None of the annual reports considered in this report have been the subject of debate in the Senate.

Bodies not presenting annual reports to the Senate

1.19      The committee is required to report to the Senate each year under Standing Order 25 (20)(h) on whether there are any bodies not presenting annual reports to the Senate which should. The committee is satisfied that there are no bodies within the Innovation, Industry, Science and Research; Resources, Energy and Tourism; or Treasury portfolios that are avoiding their obligation.

1.20      The Committee previously suggested in its report Annual reports (No. 1 of 2010) that the Chief Scientist should release a public annual report to inform the community of her work.[8] The committee is pleased to note that in November 2010 the Chief Scientist published an annual review for 2009-10, which can be found on the Chief Scientist's website, and is considered briefly in Chapter 2 of this report.[9]

Other comments on reports

1.21      Taking into account the reporting guidelines specified by the legislation under which departments and agencies present their annual reports, the Committee considers that the reports it has examined are generally 'apparently satisfactory'.

Compliance indices

1.22      While no longer mandatory under the reporting requirements, the Committee recommends the inclusion of a compliance index in the annual reports of the larger and more complex agencies. The index preferably should include a nil return entry where the agency has nothing to report under an item. A compliance index is a useful feature of reports and considerably assists the Committee's task of assessing reports. It also assists agencies by clearly showing that their compliance obligations have been met. It can be particularly useful for agencies with reporting requirements under various Acts.

1.23      The Committee commends a number of departments and agencies for their inclusion of compliance indices in their 2009‑10 annual reports.

External scrutiny and accountability

1.24      It is required that annual reports:

... must provide information on the most significant developments in external scrutiny of the department and the department's response, including particulars of:

(a) judicial decisions and decisions of administrative tribunals that have had, or may have, a significant impact on the operations of the department; and

(b) reports on the operations of the department by the Auditor-General (other than the report on financial statements), a Parliamentary committee or the Commonwealth Ombudsman.[10]

1.25      Annual reports should be a primary reference document for parliamentarians and others looking for information about external scrutiny of government agencies. As noted above, the primary purpose of annual reports is accountability to the Parliament – it is therefore important that details about external scrutiny are included in a clear manner in annual reports.  It is particularly important that details about parliamentary scrutiny are included in annual reports, including appearances at Senate estimates hearings (which are the subject of bi-annual reports to the Senate).

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